This page includes the most-watched sporting events of 2018 by sport and by television network. For the full list of the top 50 events, click here. For a list of the top 50 excluding the NFL and the Olympics, click here.
Top Sports Audiences of 2018 By Sport
| SportsMediaWatch.com | ||||
| Sport | Game | Rtg | Vwrs | Net |
| NFL | Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl 52 |
43.1 | 103.39M (106M) |
NBC |
| CFB | Alabama-Georgia National Championship |
15.6 | 28.44M | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU |
| NBA | Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals Game 2 |
10.3 | 18.47M | ABC |
| Soccer | France-Croatia World Cup Final |
— | 17.83M | FOX/TELE |
| MLB | Red Sox-Dodgers World Series Game 5 |
10.0 | 17.64M (17.88M) |
FOX |
| Figure Skating |
Olympics Women’s Final |
10.4 | (17.6M) | NBC/NBCSN |
| CBB | Villanova-Michigan National Championship |
9.2 | 15.97M (16.5M) |
Turner |
| Horse Racing |
Kentucky Derby Race segment |
8.5 | 14.88M (15.0M) |
NBC |
| PGA | The Masters Final Round |
7.9 | 13.03M | CBS |
| NASCAR | Daytona 500 | 5.3 | 9.30M (9.35M) |
FOX |
| NHL | Capitals-Golden Knights Stanley Cup Final Game 5 |
3.9 | 6.99M (7.09M) |
NBC |
| IndyCar | Indianapolis 500 | 3.1 | 4.91M | ABC |
| WCBB | Notre Dame-Miss. St. National Championship |
2.0 | 3.54M | ESPN |
| Tennis | US Open Women’s final |
1.9 | 3.10M | ESPN |
| Boxing | Crawford-Benavidez Jr. Top Rank Boxing |
1.35 | 2.25M | ESPN |
| MMA | UFC on FOX 28 | 1.2 | 2.04M | FOX |
| Formula 1 | Monaco GP (encore) | 1.0 | 1.62M | ABC |
| LPGA | U.S. Women’s Open Final Round |
0.6 | 878K | FOX |
| WNBA | WNBA All-Star Game | 0.5 | 709K | ABC |
Top Sports Audiences of 2018 By Network
| SportsMediaWatch.com | |||
| Net | Game | Rtg | Vwrs |
| NBC | Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl 52 |
43.1 | 103.39M (106M) |
| CBS | Jaguars-Patriots AFC Championship |
24.3 | 44.08M |
| FOX | Vikings-Eagles NFC Championship |
21.7 | 42.30M (42.77M) |
| ESPN | Alabama-Georgia National Championship |
15.6 | 28.44M |
| ABC | Titans-Chiefs AFC Wild Card |
13.0 | 22.18M |
| Turner Sports |
Villanova-Michigan National Championship |
9.2 | 15.97M (16.5M) |
| NFL Network |
Jets-Browns Week 3 TNF |
5.2 | 8.63M |
| FS1 | Dodgers-Brewers NLCS Game 7 |
4.05 | 7.34M |
| NBCSN | Olympics Day 1 (2:00-5:00P) |
2.6 | 4.50M |
| Golf Channel |
Tampa Bay Final Rd. lead-in |
1.5 | 2.35M |
| MLB Network |
Braves-Dodgers NLDS Game 1 |
1.3 | 2.12M |
| NBA TV | Jazz-Thunder First round, Game 5 |
0.5 | 823K |
Page 2 of 2
